Leaping Great White Shark Photographed From The Air In Cape Cod

A new image has emerged of yesterday’s great white shark breach recorded off Cape Cod, taken from the air by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s spotter pilot.

Wayne Davis has been responsible for a multitude of shark photographs during his time working with the conservancy, revealing stunning views of the predators from above, as the Inquisitr has previously noted. Though he has captured white shark attacks on film before, his work on Monday stands out, as he was able to record a great white shark as it attempted to prey upon a seal just in front of the conservancy’s research vessel.

Our spotter pilot Wayne Davis captured this pic yesterday of the research team watching a seal escape a white shark. pic.twitter.com/Kw8udiLY7M

Dr. Greg Skomal, with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, was able to capture stunning footage of the attempted predation from water-level, which revealed the seal escaping the great white shark. The researchers were working just off the coast of Chatham, near Monomoy, when they observed the unusual attack. Though it wasn’t the first predation attempt the group has recorded, it was unique in its own way, according to Dr. Skomal.

“I don’t think any of us anticipated the shark or the seal coming out of the water,” he noted, later adding, “It’s not new, but it’s unique here, because typically we don’t see that.”

As ABC News reports, Cynthia Wigren, the conservancy’s president, pointed out that the group had never before observed a great white shark breaching in the region.

“The escape was incredible to witness. We’ve seen three predations over the last two years and this was a first — to watch a white shark leap from the water in an attempt to grab a grey seal. The seal won that battle but shortly after the same shark successfully consumed a different seal further offshore.”

Though the shark failed to catch its prey, it succeeded in its next attempt, taking a different seal in another attack that was also witnessed by the conservancy. In addition, the researchers were able to tag two great white sharks during their voyage on Monday, according to the Boston Globe.

Last week, authorities called swimmers from the water at Nauset Light beach after a white shark was spotted preying upon a seal just offshore. A similar incident forced the closure of nearby Coast Guard beach in early August, when another great white shark predation occurred near a group of beachgoers.